Is Gangsta Rap Hip Hop?
It’s two sides to that question. What I mean by that is KRS1’s first LP (Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions) was a gangster rap album that was highly respected within hip hop, and you would still see him at many b-boy battles rippin up the stage. And on the other side you had a group like NWA doin gangster rap, and you would never see or have them doin shows at b-boy events. How did hip hop affect the gang culture in the Bronx and New York? I remember as a young teen seein the gangs run the streets. In my hood was the Peace Makers gang, and if you crossed over the bridge there was the Black Spades gang. There where other gangs like the Savage Skulls, the Young Sinners, the Javelins, and many others. It was Afrika Bambaataa who at the time was the leader of the Black Spades that turned the gang culture on to hip hop. With most gang members getting killed or goin to jail he took a negative situation and built a positive foundation and thats how the Universal Zulu Nation came to l
Since “Gangsta Rap’s” inception, many have argued whether or not it is a part of Hip Hop culture or if it belongs in its own seperate category completely. Most recently, a fierce argument broke out when it organizers of New York’s Hip Hop museum questioned the inclusion of gangsta rap in their exhibits. This is one of the many arguments that has raged on over time. Is Young Jeezy, 50 Cent, The Game and other Hip Hop? While many “hip hop purists” explain that Gangsta Rap does not follow with the revolutionary origins of Hip Hop culture, Immortal Technique feels differently and delivers this riveting essay on the subject… Gangsta Rap Is Hip Hop By: Immortal Technique The connection between Revolution and Gangsta Rap is not only unquestionable in my mind but also historically speaking. So much so that I’m forced to begin to elaborate on it now as I go to more prisons, juvenile centers and schools to talk with young people with uncertain futures about the industry. They ask me about the
